Cabling, such as UTP, ScTP, coax, and fiber optic cabling, is being increasingly used in the telecommunications industry to provide data, voice, video, or audio information. Patch panel or network equipment enclosure and rack systems are well-known in the industry and provided to manage and organize such cables to or from equipment or cross-connect systems. These systems usually include a standard EIA 19″, 23″, or other distribution frame rack on which one or more patch panels, network equipment and/or fiber optic enclosures are mounted. Enclosures within the rack serve various functions, including operation as slack trays, splice trays, cable organizers and patch panels. These racks also serve as inter-connect or cross-connect enclosures when interfacing with equipment, or may serve as a telecommunications closet, allowing the cables to be terminated, spliced, patched or stored at places along their length.
The rack usually is formed of a frame having mounting apertures located along vertical legs or walls of the rack. Patching equipment, such as a patch panel, is mounted on the rack so as to define generally a patching side where patch cords coming from an active device or another patch panel can be cross-connected and interconnected, and a distribution side where cables from network equipment or a work station area are terminated. Generally, some form of cable management is also provided on both sides of the rack to support and route the cables. Additionally, a passthrough opening may allow cables to be routed from one side of the rack to the other.
Typically, the cabling is manually connected to the patch panel, both on the patching side and the distribution side. Depending on the number of cables being connected, an installer may have difficulty accessing the panel with either his hands or tools. A poor connection at the patch panel may result in communication problems or other problems depending on the type of equipment connected to the cables.